The X Factor (UK series 1)
Selection process Eligibility On 11 March 2014, Cowell confirmed at a press conference in London that closed room auditions would be the preliminary round, as well as the eight-seat challenge at bootcamp. Auditions Mobile auditions In addition to the producers' auditions, the "Mobile Audition Tour" took place up and down the UK and Ireland throughout March and April. Auditions began to open on 24 March, and visited Cork, Belfast, Newquay, Exeter, Bournemouth, Southampton, Bristol, Newport, Barry, Swansea, Romford, Leicester, Brighton, Norwich, Sunderland, Middlesbrough, South Shields, Durham, Glasgow, Dundee, Aberdeen, Ayr, Solihull, Dudley, Coventry, Wolverhampton, Warrington, Leeds, Hull, Sheffield, Birkenhead, Blackpool, Bolton and Widnes by 28 April. Open auditions Producers auditions commenced on 5 April in Dublin and ended on 5 May in Liverpool. For the first time, nine open auditions were held, instead of the usual six, and the five in series 6 and 10. This series marked the first time that auditions had visited Ireland since series 7. It was also the first time open auditions were held in Plymouth and Edinburgh. Judges auditions In this series there were just four locations for the judges auditions, the fewest in the history of the show. The auditions started in Manchester (Emirates Old Trafford) on 16 and 17 June. The London auditions (Emirates Stadium) took place on 20 June and from 22–24 June, and were followed by Newcastle (St. James' Park) on 26 June, before concluding in Edinburgh (Assembly Rooms) on 1 July. The first room audition episode aired on 30 August, and featured Manchester, London and Edinburgh. More room auditions from London, Edinburgh and Manchester, along with those from Newcastle, were shown in the 31 August episode. Bootcamp It was reported in March 2014 that Cowell was considering axing the bootcamp stage in favour of the "eight-seat challenge", whereby judges were assigned their categories at the start of bootcamp and contestants took it in turns to perform for their judge.The six-seat challenge involves successful contestants being offered one of "six seats", representing places at the judges' houses stage of the competition. However, if a judge had already chosen eight acts for their category, they could replace them if they preferred a later act. This was a controversial input to the series as many were disappointed to see acts sent home in such a harsh way. Despite the reports, both bootcamp and the six-seat challenge took place. Walsh was given the Groups category, Mel B was given the Boys, Fernandez-Versini was given the Girls and Cowell was given the Over 25s. The eight-seat challenge took place at The SSE Arena on 9 and 10 August. A total of 175 acts successfully reached the bootcamp this year. They were put into groups and took part in a sing-off, followed by a solo song in front of the other finalists where the judges cut 115 acts, leaving only 60 acts to compete for the "eight-seat challenge". Any contestant under 16 could not be swapped out if they were given a seat. Judges' houses For judges' houses, Walsh took the Groups to Bermuda and was assisted by former judge Tulisa Contostavlos; Mel B took the Boys to Cancún, with assistance from fellow Spice Girls member Emma Bunton; Fernandez-Versini took the Girls to Nice and was assisted by Tinie Tempah; and Cowell took the Over 25s to Los Angeles, where he was assisted by Sinitta. Finalists Key: Eliminated